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Qantas hijacks Rolls-Royce claim

Matt O'Sullivan

QANTAS held a ''serious concern'' that Rolls-Royce would try to stop it from pursuing the jet-engine maker for compensation in Australia for losses from the grounding of its A380 superjumbo fleet.

The airline has launched a damages claim here against Rolls-Royce - which some analysts have estimated will top $207 million if the two companies cannot reach a settlement.

It has been revealed in documents filed in the Federal Court that Qantas made the pre-emptive legal strike because it believed Rolls-Royce would have gone straight to Britain's courts for an ''anti-suit injunction'' had it known the airline's intentions.

''If [the anti-suit injunction had been] granted, there is a high likelihood that Qantas would not only be restrained from pursuing these proceedings but that it would also be shut out from having an Australian court determine whether or not it should entertain a significant claim,'' an affidavit from Qantas states. ''It is because of this fear and concern that Qantas seeks on an interim and protective basis the [injunction].''

Qantas's lawyers had sought on Wednesday to keep parts of the affidavit confidential.

The airline claims it will be ''unprofitable'' to fly A380s between Australia and the US while thrust restrictions on the Rolls-Royce engines remain in place. The A380s would be able to carry only 80 passengers instead of the usual 450.

''Were the engines to be used with a full or commercially viable payload at the required thrust for take-off from [Los Angeles], the engines would need to be replaced after 75 such take-offs,'' the affidavit states.

Qantas cannot use the Trent 900 ''A'' version ''at all'', nor ''in practice'' use its ''B'' and ''C'' versions at 76,000 pounds of thrust, it says.

The airline claims the grounding of its entire A380 fleet for almost a month has resulted in ''significant loss and damage''. In the affidavit lodged on December 2 it says it will ''continue to suffer delays'' in the delivery of further A380s and spare engines because of the problems.

It emerged on Wednesday that a defect had been found in an engine on one of the A380s still at the factory in France, which Qantas is due to take delivery of this month. Qantas said the engine was a ''B'' version - not a newer ''C'' version, which is said to be free of defects.

The airline claims written advice from Rolls-Royce in 2000-01 was ''misleading or deceptive'' because the engines it bought had a defect.